The brain has 100 billion specialized nerve cells
called neurons. Each nerve cell communicates with
many others to form networks. Nerve cell
networks have special jobs. Some are involved
in thinking, learning and remembering. Others
help us see, hear and smell. Still others tell
our muscles when to move. In Alzheimer’s
disease, as in other types of dementia,
increasing numbers of brain cells deteriorate
and die.

Take the Brain
Tour to learn more about how the
brain works and how Alzheimer's disease
affects it.

Symptoms of Alzheimer’s

There can be memory loss that disrupts
daily life. This common sign of Alzheimer's includes
forgetting important dates, events and recently
learned information over and over, and relying on
memory aids such as notes. Age related change is
sometimes forgetting names or appointments but
remembering them later.

There can be a mental decline and
difficulty thinking and understanding. This can be
confusion, delusion and disorientation. It is forgetting the
right words to use calling a watch a hand-clock,
etc. Age related forgetfulness is sometimes forgetting the
right word.

Planning and problem solving
challenges. They can take a long time to complete
familiar tasks. There can be an inability to do simple
math or inability to recognize common things.

Behavior can change: A person can
become aggressive, or can be agitated, irritable,
meaningless repetition of words, personality changes,
lack of restraint, wandering off and getting lost.
Person can be angry, apathetic, general discontent,
lonely or have mood swings. They can become depressed,
have hallucinations or become paranoid.

The person can loss their appetite or
become restless.

They can lose the ability to combine
muscle movement and can have jumbled speech.

The role of plaques and
tangles

Two abnormal structures called plaques and
tangles are believed to be damaging and
killing nerve cells. Plaques and tangles were
among the abnormalities that Dr. Alois
Alzheimer saw when he first named the disease,
although he called them different names.

Plaques build up
between nerve cells. They contain deposits
of a protein fragment called beta-amyloid
(BAY-tuh AM-uh-loyd).

Tangles Tangles are
twisted fibers of another protein called
tau (rhymes with “wow”). Tangles form
inside dying cells.

Though most people develop some plaques and
tangles as they age, those with Alzheimer’s
tend to develop far more.

The plaques and tangles tend to form in a
predictable pattern, beginning in areas
important in learning and memory and then
spreading to other regions.

Scientists are not absolutely sure what
role plaques and tangles play in Alzheimer’s
disease. Most experts believe they somehow
block communication among nerve cells and
disrupt activities that cells need to survive.

Drink more
vegetable and fruit juices: particularly
vegetable juices since they have less
fructose. These juices have tons of
beneficial antioxidants.

Minimize eating
sugars & carbs:

Why would eating lots
of sweets and carbohydrates increase your risk
of dementia? Well, there are three
scientific reasons:

Reason 1:
Sugar dramatically increases your metabolism,
and high rates of metabolism become a major
source of free radical production which damage
your cells and impair their function.)

Reason 2:
High levels of sugar in your body cause the
sugar to react with various critical proteins,
including enzymes that repair DNA damage
caused by free radicals.

Reason 3:
Continued high sugar consumption prevents your
cells from absorbing the sugar needed to
produce energy — a condition called insulin
resistance. Another recent study found a high
incidence of insulin resistance in those with
Alzheimer's dementia. The worst form of sugar
is high Fructose corn syrup.

Therapy with
B Vitamins
such as B6, folic acid, and
B12 (methylcobalamin)
that lower homocysteine
levels. It is thought that a high
homocysteine level in the brain causes
neuronal damage leading to progression of
Alzheimer's disease.

People who
eat an average of 180 mg or more a day of
DHA,
a fatty acid found in fish
oils have a lower incidence of
Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia,
compared with people who consume less
DHA,
according to epidemiologic data collected
in the Framingham Heart Study. Dietary
supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids
may protect cognitive function in patients
with mild, early stage AD.

We have used our best judgment in compiling this information. The Food and Drug Administration may not have evaluated the information presented. Any reference to a specific product is for your information only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease